The number of cases of type 3 dengue fever increases in SP – 13/12/2023 – Health

As of December 7, the state of São Paulo had identified ten cases of dengue serotype 3. The information is from the State Department of Health. Eight are in Votuporanga, 1 in Valentim Gentil and 1 in Rio Preto.

It is important to highlight that this number may be higher, since not all samples are sent for analysis and serotype identification.

According to Votuporanga City Hall, the last three confirmations refer to a ten-year-old child, a 23-year-old pregnant woman and a 41-year-old adult, living in the east, south and west regions, respectively.

On December 1st, the municipality had already confirmed serotype 3 in a 23-year-old resident of the northern region. In November, four cases had been identified — all women, aged 5, 31, 34 and 46.

The patients are at home, in good health and being monitored by the reference health unit or by Epidemiological Surveillance.

The sample from Rio Preto also belongs to a female person. She is 57 years old and lives in the north of the city. The onset of symptoms was on 11/28, with fever, myalgia, fatigue, back and joint pain. The patient has comorbidities.

The reporter contacted Valentim Gentil city hall by email and telephone, but there was no response.

Dengue serotype 3 has not caused an epidemic in Brazil for 15 years. Serotypes 1 and 2 currently prevail in the country.

The occurrences of dengue 3 are not restricted to the state of São Paulo.

In November, Pernambuco had identified 4 cases of type 3. The positive samples were confirmed by Lacen (Pernambuco Central Public Health Laboratory) and belong to three women and one man who live at the same address in the city of Paulista. None of the patients had serious complications.

In May of this year, a study by Fiocruz had identified three autochthonous cases of serotype 3 in Roraima and one imported in Paraná — the person diagnosed with the disease had come from Suriname. The analyzes indicated that the detected lineage was introduced to the Americas from Asia, in the period between 2018 and 2020, probably through the Caribbean.

There is an expectation for a rise in dengue 3 cases in Brazil in 2024, with the possibility of an epidemic, according to experts and the Ministry of Health itself. The threat raises a concern: those who have contracted serotypes 1, 2 or 4 and become infected with 3 can develop a serious illness.

The dengue virus has four serotypes. When an individual is infected by one of them they acquire immunity against that virus, but are still susceptible to the others.

“Every new serotype is worrying and serious due to the large number of secondary infections in a short space of time. The expectation is gloomy”, says Kleber Luz, coordinator of the Arboviruses Committee of the SBI (Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases) and consultant for arboviruses at the Opas (Pan American Health Organization).